Portfolio: Abdelrahman Merdan

Abdelrahman Merdan

Housing on Curviture

Course: ARC200

Instructor: David Verbeek

Year: 2021

This project focused on adding densi cation to a site located in North York on Victoria park avenue and Sheppard avenue. The unique road curvature of the site led to the creation of four typologies based on the houses facing these curves. The typologies created were the cul-de-sacs, deep turns, shallow turns, and simple curves. These typologies focused on the magnitude of unused road space that simultaneously a ects the size of the house’s front yards. Using this analysis, additions were created to use this space to add new forms of housing. These radical additions allowed for these spaces to become habitable in a seamless manner.

Deep Turns

Shallow Turns

Simple curves

Anarchitectural Spiral

Course: JAV101

Instructor: Marcin Kedzior

Year: 2020, Reworked: 2021

This pavilion located in Kensington Markets Bellevue park houses the work of Adrian Blackwell’s Anarchitectural Library. The pavilion takes inspiration from the work by becoming a library itself. The spiral form allows itself to give power to di erent speakers no matter where they stand. This allows for any type of movement as any user can quickly climb to the top of the spiral and come back down all through the connection of the spiral.

Rotating Spirals

Course: ARC280

Instructor: Reem Abdelaal

Year: 2021

The goal of this project is to explore complex structural towers as well as a moving facade system that uses attractor points to open. The nal design explores the idea of a main structure that has two other towers rotating around it. The location of my tower allows for a futuristic design as well as permitting ships to y in and out of one tower while the other is used for inhabitants. The main towers facade allows for certain spaces to open in order to become a balcony for the users.

Shifting Spaces

Course: ARC201

Instructor: Brian O’Brian

Year: 2021

The idea of this project was to represent the development of a grid of columns into a habitable study space with one, suitable word. The word that inspired the creation of this project was "change." I explored the idea of shifting blocks that moved towards green and open spaces depending on the level where they are located. The form I created allows for unique movement as the user moves from one block to another. These spaces allow for inclusive and exclusive rooms for studying. The shifting form allows the interior and exterior to become habitable and creates critical moments within the structure.

Shift the structure towards the green spaces and away from the buildings

Create the structure based on the outline of the form

Identify green spaces and buildings at that level surrounding the structure

My instructor, Brian O’Brian, taught the class to portray work through hand drawings instead of digital illustrations. This is re ected in the way I approached the work. This type of representation allows for a unique perspective that contributed to the concept, as well as the form.